Binoculars or other magnification devices have many applications. Such devices are commonly used at sporting and cultural events, as well as in hobbies such as birdwatching and in covert activities such as surveillance monitoring. During such activities, it is often inconvenient and tiring to continue to hold the binoculars throughout the activity. It is therefore beneficial to provide for continuous use of the binoculars while leaving the hands free to rest or perform other tasks.
Several inventions have addressed this need. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,649,019, Hartline et al. disclose a contractible head mount for binoculars that was designed specifically for aviators. While this apparatus allows hands-free use of the binoculars, the device is cumbersome, and is designed to be used only with an aviator's helmet and with particular binoculars, which are attached. Thus, this apparatus is not suitable for use by the general public.
Rudenschold (U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,093) discloses headgear having detachable binoculars that may be affixed below an elongated visor. While this apparatus is more likely to be worn by the general public, the particular headgear must still be worn, and the headgear is only adapted to receive the corresponding binoculars. Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,926, Choi discloses a visor with built-in binoculars, formed as a unitary assembly.
Goldstein (U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,086) and Benitez (U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,139) both disclose particular binocular designs suitable for attachment to and use with headgear. In both cases, the binoculars are fixed to the headgear by means of a hook and loop fastener or other attachment means. Thus, the user of these apparatus is not only restricted to the particular binoculars, but also to particular headgear, because the headgear must be permanently modified to accommodate the binoculars.
Sherlock et al. disclose, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,841, a headband magnifier. This apparatus includes a headband with a pivoting support for magnifying lenses. Although this apparatus can be fitted to anyone's head and is not dependent on the particular headgear worn, the pivoting support will only accommodate suitable lenses. Further, because only one set of objective lenses is used, this apparatus is most advantageously used for close work, that is, for magnifying small items and details close to the wearer. The apparatus is not suitable for viewing events at a distance.
Tonoyan et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,208) and Kelman et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,686) both disclose eyeglass assemblies for attachment to the visor of a cap. These assemblies are only suitable for use with sunglass lenses or, similar to the Sherlock et al. apparatus, lenses used for close work or reading. Further, because the lenses themselves must be accommodated by the assembly, only particular lenses may be used with these assemblies.
Thus, conventional hands-free binocular devices include the specific headgear, the specific binoculars or lenses, or both. Some are more adaptable to be used with any headgear or anyone's head, but these are not suited for use at events in which it is desirable to view far-away occurrences. It would be advantageous for a hands-free binocular device to be suitable for use with any visored headgear, so that the wearer could choose the headgear suitable to the event. It would also be advantageous for a hands-free binocular device to be suitable for use with any binoculars, so that the user could determine the level of expense and performance afforded by the selected binoculars.